Dream a Little Dream . . .

Betsey: Jane, I know you’re a dreamer, like I am. I can get lost in my own gauzy fancies – my seaside cottage with breezy blue and white décor (for you, a mountain cabin?), my Thanksgiving dinner with the dining room graciously bathed in a candlelit glow and family and friends sociably crowded around the table, lingering over stuffing and conversation, Fritz and I tramping over the green Irish hills while the wind is at our back and the road rises up to meet us (sorry) . . . What are some of your dreams?

Jane: Oh boy, where do I start? With the one where I can sing like Alison Krauss? Or the one where we too live in Ireland (sort of a Waking Ned Devine fantasy without the old-man-riding-naked-on-a-bicycle thing . . . )?

Mostly I daydream about living in a cabin in a mountain meadow, surrounded by columbines and lupines and alpine pinks, a burbling trout stream running clean and clear nearby. I sit on the porch in a rocker, cozy in my L.L. Bean fleece, sipping hot chocolate and benevolently watching my dogs frolic in the crisp mountain air. Meanwhile, a freshly baked huckleberry pie cools on a window sill, bluegrass music plays in the background, and Rich stokes a fire in a massive stone fireplace as we await the arrival of our kids and grandchildren for a big dinner of homemade beef stew and, of course, PIE! (In my fantasies, calories don't count, so we consume it a la mode. Sigh.)

Betsey: Then there’s my dream job, which varies depending on day, mood, and how close we are to the autumnal equinox. Today, inspired by the thoughts of a mutual colleague, I’m dreaming of a sort of cottage-industry, home-grown publishing company with ample capitalization where I could hire all my friends as well as an assortment of other interestingly diverse types. We would be quirky and creative but all-business, brainstorming ideas amid colorful clutter in our vintage building on an urban-village street lined with coffeehouses and used bookshops. So do you have a “dream job”?

Jane: Um . . . working with you!

Betsey: Absolutely! I do think dreams can serve a purpose -- they aren’t just useless “woolgathering,” as the old folks used to say. Especially when something keeps coming up -- that can be a nudge from God, although now we stray into is-it-God’s-will territory. But if I plan something and picture it -- like the Thanksgiving dinner! -- I find I’m better able to pull it off. On the other hand, sometimes dreams are just amusing and fun, like when I was a kid and dreamed about meeting The Beatles.

Jane: Oh, and I wanted to meet The Monkees and Illya Kuryakin from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.!

But seriously, I've envisioned certain house things, such as our master bathroom remodel, and I found creative daydreaming paid off. I was very satisfied with the end result.

Betsey: Oh, man, I love your bathroom, the dark colors and skylight. I went home and said to Fritz, “You should see their tile!” Anyway. But have you ever had a time when you felt really tugged by something . . . and eventually it became a reality?

Jane: Betsey, if you mean a strong yearning for something you feel God tugging at you to pray for or to accomplish, then my answer's yes. I've certainly felt the Spirit's nudge to pray extreme prayers for my children and my husband during certain seasons of their lives, and I've seen those prayers honored.

And as for my decades-long career in the Christian publishing industry, that really was the fulfillment of so many of those creative yearnings and dreams I'd had, in one form or another, since childhood. The path I've been privileged to take has always felt, to me, ordained -- a convergence of gifts and goals with grace.

As far as current dreams, though? That's where I'm struggling now. This present season finds me dreaming “small” rather than “big”: quiet dreams of a peaceful life spent being Grandma (Sarah's due with our first grandchild in March), tending my hearth and home, investing in a personal way in people's lives, whether through an encouraging note, a quick hug, a shared meal, a timely e-mail, or the occasional blog.

Oh, speaking of the blog -- I actually did find myself dreaming big about betsey:jane's future as I mowed the grass recently. As I pushed away at the mower, I imagined our little project growing into a much bigger venture, an e-magazine or even a book. I began brainstorming and became rather energized by the whole idea. So perhaps this little daydream is the Spirit's tug – either that, or the fevered musings of an overheated mind!

Betsey: Acquiring editors, are you listening? I know you’re out there! (You can join our publishing team when we get it off the ground.)

And . . . there’s nothing wrong with “dreaming small.” Because small dreams can add up to something very big and very significant. There’s more than one way to have a big life.